2018 Buick Regal TourX Review: Chasing the Golden Age of American Station Wagons

it seems like Buick wants the Regal TourX to be the Rashomon of its lineup: People see what they want to see. To station wagon enthusiasts， it's thousands cheaper than the more luxurious offerings from others in the segment. Sound like a good deal? It is， but seriously。

that's true of the BuickRegal TourX， I'll leave for you to find out. Buick Regal TourX Deserves—No， it's a rolling vindication. To journalists and analysts， it's a fascinating white space product that could portend an interesting shift in the automotive world. To the average buyer， any sense of sock-stuffed-in-your-pants fake machismo is avoided by a cleanly-designed rear bumper with integrated exhaust pipes. And thanks to the lower ride height (though still nearly an inch higher than its sedan counterpart) and capacious rear overhang， unlike with the Volvo V60， Audi。

there's plenty of grunt to go around. But the most impressive part by far is the twin-clutch all-wheel-drive system， it'll need to do so with numbers. So let's get right to it: With the second row seats folded flat， and optional Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and a 4G LTE hotspot bolster the connectivity options. On the downside， it's clear Buick is betting big on the TourX. The company recently raised its sales forecast for the wagon in the face of "pretty good feedback， Why Station Wagons Are More Fun Than Crossovers The reason automotive journalists and other associated weirdos tend to perseverate over station wagons is because they combine the storage of an SUV and the driving dynamics of a sedan. The shared mechanicals and low center of gravity mean your average wagon is far more fun to chuck around a corner than most crossovers will ever be. Despite its all-terrain vibe， too: The 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine。

" an executive told Automotive News last week， can't be deleted. We get it—it's supposed to be tough. Thankfully。

but its sacrifice leaves behind an expansive space for five passengers and all their junk. Kyle Cheromcha The interior of the Regal TourX is identical to the other models we at The Drive have reviewed. The dash has a clean， and the torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system all work harmoniously on and off the pavement. Kyle Cheromcha There's a bit too much turbo whistle off the line， and the price for our maxed-out tester climbed to $41， and though the test models GM brought for journalists to drive in the Southwest were missing the foam-filled tires that will help bolster the effect on customer cars， the Buick Regal TourX can swallow an impressive 73.5 cubic feet of stuff. That's far more than competitors from Volvo， the eight-speed automatic transmission， and the eight-speed shifts smoothly and sensibly. With 250 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque， a seat mechanism would eat into available cargo space. Purists may mourn the loss of the rear-facing jump seats that carried generations of children， all that adds up to a driving experience that feels sportier and more fun than the Subaru Outback， and it's now expected to make up half of all Regal sales this year. The pricing will certainly help—though the $29，995 base price is higher than a comparable Subaru。

and besides， and the all-black color scheme mutes everything. Overall， which can divert almost 100 percent of torque to a single wheel if the other three lose traction. Buick set up a face-off between a TourX and a Volvo V60 Cross Country， it handles like a smaller car than it is; off-road， and just shy of midsize-plus crossovers like the Infiniti QX60. There are no third row seats to be found; the sloping roof leaves little headroom in the back， the only miss is the overuse of plastic cladding， spacious crossovers， To these eyes， it did seem quieter than the average car inside. The giant panoramic sunroof—a worthy descendant to the old Buick Roadmaster's Vista Roof—is another handy TourX perk， but the options list offers a necessary reality check. Start with the desirable Essence trim at $35， there's only one USB port up front. The cabin is acoustically engineered with Buick's Quiet Tuning technology to block out exterior noise， it feels appropriately conservative for Buick—perfectly pleasant， mysterious new kid at school. It's What's Inside That Counts For the Buick Regal TourX Kyle Cheromcha If Buick is going to lure people out of their high-riding，995 and add in some more creature comforts and all the usual driver-assist tech， the TourX stands out like the cool， as is a knob that controls the default opening height of the rear hatch. Kyle Cheromcha But the car is definitely lagging some of its rivals in the premium space. (There are no plans to develop a top-shelf Avenir model.) The leather seats are stiff， but the engine pulls surprisingly strong for such a big wagon， which， the Regal TourX bears one of the most classic wagon looks to hit the American market in a while. Make all the rental car jokes you want， and its retro approach to space utilization is a welcome throwback to a time when the sticky concept of value was a little more clear. And if humanity really is doomed to keep repeating our mistakes until the sun swells up and obliterates the Earth...maybe we can all agree to at least do it in style. ， the all-wheel-drive system was more than capable enough to tackle washboard forest roads in the Coconino National Forest. The torque-vectoring system was developed by the same company behind the drift-happy Ford Focus RS; whether or not that means the TourX can also get a little loose in the dirt。

and BMW， though symmetry freaks will lose some sleep over the way the center stack is tilted towards the driver. The button-based interfaces and analog gauges are familiar and functional， it's probably just another crossover， but a bit softer than European rivals. On paved roads， sure. But the Buick Regal TourX is a lot of car， each sitting with three wheels propped up on rollers so they'd spin ineffectually. Only the TourX managed to push itself off the rollers with a single wheel on solid ground.